Subway's New Ad Reminds Women It's Important to Stay Thin for Halloween

Subway has some alarming news for the ladies: Bikini season never actually ends.

The sub chain released a new ad designed to guilt women not to indulge in that delicious burger since it's always important to stay skinny for Halloween. "You got to stay in shape for all the costumes," a judgy actress says dismissively to her McDonald's-annihilating lunchmates.

Those costumes? Oh, just your usual array of revealing, "sexy" outfits like "attractive nurse," "spicy Red Riding Hood" and "foxy fullback," which is some kind of football thing. Just for good measure, there's a bit of chauvinistic behavior in the ad when the dude ogles at her viking costume and asks her to try it on again. Good stuff!

The ad is obviously sexist, but it's also just stupid and lazy. How easy would it have been for them to throw a man in as well? Plenty of guys wear shirtless Halloween costumes. Including a man wouldn't have been difficult and could have helped reframe the entire commercial. It would still be stupid, yes, because the notion that women need to alter their bodies for this fictional "costume season" bullshit and should do so by eating Subway sandwiches is incredibly stupid, but at least it wouldn't also be degrading to women.

And the nutritional narrative Subway pushes with its "Fresh Fit" slogan is flatout wrong. Those sodium-soaked soggy subs have been scientifically proven to be just as disgusting as their burger competitors.

"Many people consume just as much sugar, carbs, sodium and overall calories per meal at Subway as they do at its much-maligned competitor, McDonald's," according to a May 2013 report in the New York Daily News. It adds the average meal at McDonald's clocks in at 1,038 calories while a Subway meal checks in at 955 calories.

So put down those Big Macs, ladies, because you don't want to look like a fat slob in your sexy Olaf costumes.